Story Highlights

Since its debut in 1996, we conservatives have seen Fox News as our sanctuary from the hostility and bias prevalent for decades in the liberal media.

Why wouldn't we? The brainchild of longtime Republican media consultant Roger Ailes, Fox was willing to air content often ignored by the rest of the news media,and give a voice to conservative punditry other networks didn't want to admit existed. Fox seemed to treat institutions and ideals we conservatives hold dear with a respect and benefit of the doubt we rarely received elsewhere.

That is starting to change.

It first became noticeable during the past two presidential campaign cycles, when I was inundated with e-mails and social media messages from conservatives (especially social conservatives) telling me they had to watch CNN and MSNBC to get unbiased coverage of the Republican primary, because Fox was perceived by these people as being in the tank for Mitt Romney.

Remember when Rick Santorum accused Fox News of "shilling for (Romney) every day?" Newt Gingrich also said, "I think Fox has been for Romney all the way through. ... We are more likely to get neutral coverage on CNN than we are Fox."

Now the man that signs the checks at Fox News is threatening to make this a very public betrayal.

On Tuesday, News Corp. chieftain Rupert Murdoch, who oversees the parent company of Fox News, tweeted the following:

"Election: To win Romney must open big tent to sympathetic families. Stop fearing far right which has nowhere else to go."

My translation: Romney should embrace homosexual "marriage" just as the Democrats have, and publicly betray the Christians who have done most of the heavy lifting for the Republican Party since 1980 (not to mention making up most of the audience for Fox News). Just sell out these sad saps as we're about to, and they'll put up with it because the Democrats don't want them either.

I have two responses to this.

First, Murdoch's suggestion that Romney should embrace an issue that has lost 31 consecutive elections in this country in order to win the presidency is ludicrous. Marriage has won from coast to coast, from Maine to Oregon and all points in between. A marriage initiative in Ohio might have saved George W. Bush's re-election in 2004. In 2008, marriage even passed in California on the same day that state was going overwhelmingly for Barack Obama.

Marriage is the most successful political issue in the country at the moment. Only those attending the same ruling-class soirees as the gutless and soulless Republican Party establishment would conclude otherwise.

Second, Murdoch should look at the success of his own network as evidence that taking customers for granted isn't a smart business plan. The demand for Fox News was created in the first place by the media bias that conservatives suffered under for years. A similar demand for an alternative to Fox News will be created if it persists in repeating that history. Some ambitious entrepreneur will come along and fill that niche in an age of almost unlimited media technology and access. Perhaps former Fox News personality Glenn Beck is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

Following Murdoch's lead is his employee, Shepard Smith, who referred to the recent Chick-fil-A day on the air as the "National Day of Intolerance." Apparently, Smith didn't get the memo that his fellow Fox News employee Mike Huckabee was inspired to take up this cause in order to defend a legitimate business from being targeted for extinction by those who disagree with its Christian values -- which strikes me as real intolerance. Apparently Smith forgot about that whole "fair and balanced" thing.

With "friends" like these, well, you know the rest.

Steve Deace is a nationally syndicated radio host. You can follow him on Twitter@SteveDeaceShow or visit stevedeace.com.

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